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Chapter 48
“Pardon?”
“You said you’re happy when you receive one. I asked who it was.”
Did I really say that? Mio stopped in her tracks and rubbed her forehead.
“Um… didn’t I say, ‘something that makes the recipient happy’?”
“That’s the same thing.”
Is it? Depending on how you look at it, Aletheia’s argument wasn’t wrong. And words that come from experience tend to sound more convincing. Since it had come to this, she might as well say there was someone. Mio vaguely brushed it off.
“Well, yes. There is. There is.”
“…Who?”
“I don’t remember. Anyway, there is. That’s enough, right?”
“I don’t have one.”
Ah. Right….
Mio was left speechless and looked at Aletheia. He was staring straight at her, as if hinting at something—almost like someone locked in a stare-down he absolutely couldn’t afford to lose.
“I said I don’t have one.”
“Yeees….”
What does that mean? Don’t tell me he’s expecting a gift from me? When that thought reached her, Mio felt a cold sweat break out.
‘Flowers or jewels—I can’t give him anything like that…?’
To begin with, Mio had never even imagined Aletheia “receiving” flowers or jewels from anyone.
But he was still a person with hot blood. Hearing that someone else had received a gift, it would be only natural for him to want one too.
‘Oh no. I really didn’t think this through.’
Wasn’t this basically like boasting, “I’ve received one!” about something he’d never had even once? If she’d known it would turn out like this, she should’ve honestly said she’d never received one either….
Mio subtly glanced around.
‘I just planted them today, so it’s a shame to pull one out… but it can’t be helped.’
Resolving to replant it in the ground while Aletheia wasn’t paying attention, Mio grabbed hold of the freshest-looking tulip among those she had planted today and yanked.
Thunk.
The tulip, grabbed by the head, was pulled from the ground, spitting up clods of soil. Mio carefully shook the dirt from the roots and then confidently held it out to Aletheia.
“Here. A gift.”
“…Is this how people usually give flower gifts?”
“It can be. I’ve received one like this.”
“…I see. Thank you.”
Aletheia accepted the tulip with a somewhat dubious expression. Still, seeing how he carefully held it by the stem, it was clear he really had wanted to receive a flower gift.
‘Heh. Cute.’
There was absolutely no way she could give him jewels given her financial situation, so if he was satisfied with this much, that was a relief. Strictly speaking, this tulip was practically bought with Aletheia’s own money anyway. But what mattered more was the act of receiving a gift itself.
Mio smiled proudly and walked ahead.
“Alright, let’s go back in now. We’ve been out too lo—!”
Ah, of all times, to trip over a stone like this. This won’t do.
‘I just finished handing over a gift so coolly!’
Mio screamed internally and flailed her arms. Fortunately, Aletheia, who had been sitting right nearby, reached out and caught her.
“I told you to be careful. That you’d fall.”
Aletheia’s voice sounded right next to her ear. When she came to her senses, she realized she wasn’t leaning on the bench’s backrest, but on his shoulder. As she pitched forward, she had ended up clambering onto his lap and into his arms.
Mio slowly pulled away and said,
“Thanks. I almost thought I was going to die.”
“……”
But for some reason, Aletheia’s hand wrapped around her waist didn’t loosen. As Mio tried to pull free, she asked in confusion,
“Aletheia?”
“…A nickname.”
Avoiding her gaze, he corrected the form of address and relaxed his grip. But this time, Mio didn’t get off his lap. She raised her hand and cupped Aletheia’s cheek.
“Ugh.”
“Lete. Why did your face suddenly turn red?”
“That’s—”
“Gasp, this looks like poison intoxication symptoms! What should we do? Oh my goodness. Your temperature’s going up all of a sudden. Your face is completely burning hot!”
“……”
With a sharp motion, Aletheia turned his face away. Mio hurriedly stood up and grabbed Aletheia, pulling him along.
“It’s because we stayed outside too long. Let’s go inside quickly!”
First, she’d get him to lie down and then nurse him. Heading up to the upper floor of the mansion, Mio pushed Aletheia into the bedroom and shouted,
“Lie down and rest without moving! Going out today must have been too much for your body. I’ll go bring some cold water or something!”
She heard Aletheia softly call, “Mio…,” but the door was already closed.
When she went down to the kitchen, Simon and Jamie were loading food onto a tray. It wasn’t mealtime, which struck her as a bit odd, but she figured one of them might have suddenly felt hungry, so it didn’t seem that strange.
Noticing her arrival, Jamie hurried over and said,
“Lady Mio! Do you need something?”
“This is bad. Lord Aletheia is showing poison intoxication symptoms again.”
“Oh my. Again?”
Jamie asked, sounding puzzled.
“This poison is strange. Is it newly developed? Usually, he gets better with just one antidote.”
“His fever keeps going up, so I’m really worried. He won’t even take medicine.”
Mio muttered as she searched the shelf and took out some cold water. Jamie lifted the bottle instead and said,
“Please go on upstairs. I’ll bring it up for you.”
“No, weren’t you two about to eat? Eat comfortably. I can carry a water bottle myself.”
“Ah, this is the basem—kyaa!”
At that moment, Simon walked over and firmly stomped on Jamie’s foot. Simon took the bottle from Jamie’s hand and passed it to Mio, saying,
“Haha, Lady Mio. Here, then—my apologies, but here’s the water bottle.”
“Hm? Okay. Enjoy your meal, both of you.”
A quick glance showed food that looked a bit… odd. But rather than nitpicking, Aletheia being sick came first. Mio took the bottle of cold water and went upstairs.
Mio learned the truth behind the words “do you like flowers more?” the next afternoon. After lunch, she was lying lazily on the bed, lightly swinging her feet.
‘Aletheia stopped me from gardening, and the fever he suddenly had yesterday went down quickly, too…’
With nothing in particular to do, Mio had no choice but to declare today a day off and loaf around leisurely.
‘That said, this bed really is comfortable.’
Maybe she should find out where it was made.
After escaping the original story and settling in a new place, she would need to get a house. She’d have to buy furniture and all sorts of daily necessities. For that, she’d need at least several thousand in funds…
‘Ah, no. This bed must be expensive.’
If she was going to find a place to live with the foxes, she’d need at least three rooms. Even if she made a large sum of money by selling relics, it wouldn’t be wise to splurge all at once. Settling down was going to cost quite a bit, so she should abandon the idea of buying overly luxurious items.
Mio soothed herself with these thoughts and softly hummed a tune. Everything was going smoothly—the original story, and life here at the Imoro mansion.
‘If I just hold out a little longer like this, I’ll be free. Mm-hm~’
She was happily swinging her feet and humming when she heard the door open slightly. Mio perked up her ears and got up.
After lunch, Aletheia had sent Mio ahead, saying he was waiting for something, so it seemed that item had arrived. Curious about what it might be, Mio stuck her head out and called him.
“Lete?”
“……”
Aletheia walked toward her, arms full of something.
“What’s all that? What did you buy?”
Without a word, he dumped everything he was holding onto the bed. Mio’s gaze naturally dropped to the pile at her feet. Something was glittering intensely…
“I said there was no need for wrapping.”
Shimmering in all kinds of colors… a whole pile of jewels….
“There are ones you wear on your ankle, too.”
Aletheia’s gaze was now fixed on Mio’s ankle. Mio hurriedly hid her exposed ankle beneath the hem of her skirt. This was truly an awkward situation beyond words.
‘Why is he so obsessed with Tararia…?’
More importantly, even if she wanted to take it off, she couldn’t. Biting her lower lip, Mio said to Aletheia,
“I told you before—after I come back from the imperial palace… I’ll take it off when I get back, Lete.”
But despite her words, Aletheia merely stared expressionlessly at the place where Tararia was, saying nothing at all.
